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How Denver's Rush Hour Stacks Up Against Other Cities

If you've been wondering whether your car needs a new brake job after all that stop-and-go driving before and after work, at least you've now got bragging rights when it comes to Denver's rush hour. The Mile High City boasts the 10th worst rush hour of U.S. cities, according to a ranking released Monday by the NAVTEQ mapping service. NAVTEQ analyzed traffic data from 113 markets and predictably pegged the top five as New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, notes the Denver Business Journal.

The news obviously isn't good for those concerned about reducing the area's pollution problems. As Lucinda Smith, Fort Collins' senior environmental planner, recently told the Coloradoan, "The whole North Front Range region, including Denver, is out of compliance for ground-level ozone." Fort Collins has begun a "Breathe Easy" campaign asking drivers not to idle their engines in the winter or at drive-thrus, a simple measure that can add up and have a major impact over time.

Meanwhile, Monica Potts at The American Prospect points out that higher prices at gas pumps can lead more people to turn to public transportation—whether the prices increase due to market pressure or government intervention (i.e. taxes).